Hiyashi chūka (冷やし中華, literally “cold Chinese”) is a Japanese-style Chinese dish consisting of cold Chinese noodles with various toppings served in summer.
It is said to have its roots in Chinese cold noodles “Ryojimen,” but because the taste and preparation method are very different, it is generally considered a dish originating from Japan.
It is also called reimen (冷麺, literally “cold noodle”) in the Kansai region and hiyashi rāmen (冷やしラーメン, literally “cold ramen”) in Hokkaido.
The toppings are usually colorful cold ingredients and a “tara” sauce.
Among the most popular: meat (Kinka ham, chicken or char siu), strips of tamagoyaki or fried eggs, summer vegetables like cucumbers and tomatoes, menma (fermented bamboo shoots), and beni shōga (pickled ginger) as garnish.
The toppings are cut thinly to blend well with the noodles and sauce.
The tara is usually prepared with a base of soy sauce and rice vinegar, or sesame seeds and mayonnaise (ゴマだれ, sesame tara – goma-dare).
In Korea, Hiyashi chūka is called “히야시추카” (hiyashichuka), which is a transliteration of the Japanese word.
Since 1995, hiyashi chuka enthusiasts have set July 7 as “Hiyashi Chuka Day” at the Japan Memorial Day Association.
- Difficulty: Easy
- Cost: Cheap
- Preparation time: 15 Minutes
- Portions: 4People
- Cooking methods: Boiling
- Cuisine: Japanese
- Seasonality: Summer
Ingredients
- 10.58 oz Chinese noodles
- 1 tamagoyaki
- 1 cucumber
- 2 tomatoes
- 2 carrots
- 5 slices ham
- to taste mustard
Steps
For the sauce – tara: follow the teriyaki sauce recipe.
The tamakoyaki, follow the recipe and then slice it,
Cut off both ends of the cucumber, cut it diagonally into 0.12-inch wide pieces, stack them, and cut into sticks.
Peel the carrots, slice them into 0.08-0.12 inch wide pieces along the fibers, boil them in the noodle water, and cut into sticks like the cucumbers. Cut the tomatoes.
Slice the ham into sticks.
For the noodles: the boiling time is about 1.5 minutes, and once the noodles are firm, drain immediately in cold water to cool them.
A typical arrangement involves gently placing the noodles on a deep plate and garnishing with shredded meat (ham, pork, steamed chicken, etc.), seafood (steamed shrimp, crab sticks, jellyfish, etc.), eggs and herbs, vegetables (cucumbers, tomatoes, etc.), and scallions arranged in a colorful radial pattern, dressed with the sauce, and garnished with mustard or pickled ginger as a condiment.
Japanese and Asian grocery stores sell Hiyashi Chuka noodles (cold ramen) in the refrigerated section.
FAQ (Questions and Answers)
What is tara sauce?
Tara (sauce) stands for 垂れ or タレ, Japanese pronunciation: [taɾe], a generic term in Japanese cuisine referring to various types of sauces, often used for grilling (yakitori, yakiniku) but also for sushi, nabemono, or gyoza.
Ingredients for a tara sauce include soy sauce, sake and/or mirin, sugar and/or honey, and optional ingredients like oyster sauce and ginger.
Tara is traditionally prepared by mixing and heating soy sauce, sake and/or mirin, sugar and/or honey.
The sauce is boiled and reduced to the desired thickness.
The Teriyaki sauce is one of the most well-known “tare”.What is the history of hiyashi chūka?
It is said that the first hiyashi chūka was sold at the restaurant “Ryutei” in Nishikicho, Sendai city in 1937.
At that time, there was no air conditioning, and Chinese restaurants saw a sharp drop in sales in summer.
Yoshio Shikura, head of the Sendai Chinese Cuisine Industry Association (currently the Miyagi Prefecture Chinese Beverage Industry Association) and first owner of Ryutei, held study sessions with association members to devise a summer menu, and in 1937 developed “Ryanbanmen.”
It was cold noodles topped with sliced bean sprouts, cabbage, menma, tomato, and chashu pork, dressed with a bit of soy sauce.
At this point, it tasted like soy sauce cold ramen, not the sweet and sour flavor that would become common later.
The original price was double that of ramen.
The dish became very popular during the Sendai Tanabata festival, and to this day, Ryutei serves “Ryousoumen (original hiyashi chuka),” dressed with soy sauce or sesame sauce, and the ingredients served on a separate plate.
